• For the year ended September 2019, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund reported an unaudited net profit of BBD$4.05Mn (EPS: $0.06), a full recovery from the BBD$739.33K loss (EPS: $-0.01) reported one year prior.
• The performance was attributable to total investment income which increased from BBD$612.54K in 2018 to BBD$7.16Mn in 2019. This was supported by a fair value gain of BBD$2.15Mn which is a reversal from the BBD$2.38Mn loss reported in the previous year. Furthermore, rental income increased 18.4% (or BBD$279.42Mn) to BBD$1.84Mn, year-on-year, while the share of profit from investments in joint ventures increased by 88.6% (or BBD$1.38Mn) to BBD$2.95Mn, year-on-year.
• The stock has declined by 20.7% since listing on the JSE, closing yesterday’s trading session at $36.62 per share. At this price, the stock currently trades at a discount of 33% to its September 30, 2019 book value per share. 

 (Source: Eppley Financials)

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• For the nine-month period ended July 31, 2019, The Limners and Bards (The LAB) Limited reported an increase in net profit of 17.3% to finish the period at $69.81Mn up from $59.51Mn for the corresponding period in 2018.
• Operating revenues increased by 24.3% (or $94.99Mn) which was the main contributor to the increased net profit. The growth in operating revenues can be attributed to increases in the company’s core business, production (up to $69.60Mn or 113.0%) and media (up to $30.20Mn or 15%).
• The stock has risen 202.0% since listing and closed yesterday’s trading session at $3.02. At this price the stock currently trades at a P/E of 33.33x which is above the Junior Market average of 29.30x.

(Source: LAB Financials)

• European Central Bank Executive Board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger became the latest policymaker to add her voice to those saying the time is not right to restart the bank’s quantitative-easing program.
• Yesterday Dutch Governor Klaas Knot said the outlook isn’t weak enough to resume buying bonds while Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has recently returned to type following his failure to be selected as next ECB head.
• The hawkish rhetoric ahead of the bank’s Sept. 12 meeting could be viewed as somewhat at odds with the data as today’s inflation figures showed price growth in the euro-area remains stuck at 1%, well below the ECB’s own target.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• A staff team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Alejandro Santos, visited Panama during July 17-23, 2019, on an invitation from the Panamanian authorities.
• Santos said, “while Panama remains among the most dynamic economies in Latin America, the economic recovery has been slower than anticipated. Real GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2019 (compared to 4% in the same period of last year), due to a softening in construction and services.
• More recent data pointing to a continuation of a sluggish recovery, lead the IMF to revise down its growth projection for 2019 to 5% (from 6% estimated in the February visit).
• Panama’s fundamentals remain solid, with the economy expected to recover and converge to its potential growth of 5.5% by next year, and inflation edging up to 2% over the medium-term.
• Authorities also expect to reduce the fiscal deficit by over 2% of GDP in the next two years, allowing Panama to observe the deficit limit under the fiscal responsibility law of 1.75% of GDP by 2021.

(Source: IMF)

NCB Capital Markets is first Caribbean sponsor of an IAAF Diamond League meet

Kingston, Jamaica – July 11, 2019: NCB Capital Markets has been confirmed as the first official Caribbean sponsor of an IAAF Diamond League meet. This strategic partnership between NCB Capital Markets and the Monaco Diamond League 2019 is part of the company’s thrust to expand its reach into international markets and invite foreign investors to do business in the region.

“We are very proud of our partnership with the IAAF Diamond League,” said Steven Gooden, CEO of NCB Capital Markets. “This event is known globally as a marker of the highest level of achievement in athletics, featuring top athletes from around the world such as our brand ambassador and double Olympic Champion, Elaine Thompson. We too are passionate about doing things at the highest level based on global best practices for the benefit of our regional clients.” As an official partner of the IAAF Monaco Diamond League 2019, we not only have the honour of reaching athletics fans all around the world, we also have an opportunity to show international investors that the Caribbean is open for business, and we are ready to partner with them on their regional investments.”

A leading investment bank and asset manager in the Caribbean, NCB Capital Markets is a subsidiary of the NCB Financial Group, which recently acquired controlling shares in Clarien Bank and Guardian Holdings Limited.

Through this partnership, NCB Capital Markets will enjoy significant brand presence at the stadium in Monaco, with exposure on print materials, bibs, digital screens and the official Diamond League website. Furthermore, global viewership of the event is expected to increase exponentially, as double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, who is the world leader in the 200m event, is expected to go head-to-head with two-time world champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas, and world silver-medallist, Marie-Josee Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast.

• Existing U.S. tariffs will have to be removed if there is to be a trade deal between Beijing and Washington, China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday.
• The leaders of the two countries agreed last weekend to relaunch trade talks that had stalled in May after U.S. officials accused China of pulling back from commitments made in the text of pact negotiators had said was nearly finished. Trade teams from both countries are in contact, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular media briefing.
• To get talks restarted, U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed not to put tariffs on about $300 billion in additional Chinese imports and ease curbs on Chinese tech giant Huawei. The United States now has tariffs of 25% on $250 billion of Chinese goods, ranging from furniture to semiconductors. China welcomes the U.S. decision not to slap new tariffs on its goods, Gao said, when asked how long the trade truce can last.

(Source: Reuters)

• In most places, you could select the new leader of a group with one vote, maybe two if it’s close. But the U.K. isn’t most places, and the Conservatives aren’t just any group.
• After five separate votes, they’ve narrowed it down to two candidates who will now spend four weeks touring the country to persuade the party membership to back them in yet another vote.
• The main thing is, Boris Johnson will face Jeremy Hunt amid rumors some of the Boris camp voted for Huntin a bid to get an easier opponent for the last round. Hunt’s chances are seemingly very, very small. 
• However, their visions for Brexit are similar: both want to deliver on the referendum result of 2016, both want to ditch or renegotiate the Irish backstop in the existing accord brokered by May, and both are prepared to contemplate a no-deal Brexit if they can’t get the changes they want.

 (Source: Bloomberg)

1. Wigton Windfarm Limited, a subsidiary of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), is the largest wind energy facility in the English-speaking Caribbean.

2. Located in Rose Hill, Manchester, the wind farm currently comprises three plants that have a total capacity of 62.7 Megawatts.

3. The company’s main objective is to facilitate and promote the use of wind and other alternative forms of energy to drive the diversification of Jamaica’s energy mix.

4. Since becoming operational, Wigton has reduced national oil consumption by close to 406,000 barrels which has saved Jamaica almost J$3 billion.

5. Wigton’s vision is to be a catalyst for increased usage of wind power and other renewable energies for electricity generation. In fulfilment of this goal, the company actively supports the growth of Jamaica’s renewable energy industry by developing human capital.

6. As a clean energy facility Wigton’s operations contribute to efforts to preserve the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change. Wind energy generation provides a viable alternative to combustion of traditional fossil fuels which cause greenhouse gas pollution.